Higher Taxa | Scincidae, Scincinae, Scincoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | E: Bojer's Skink |
Synonym | Scincus bojerii DESJARDIN 1831: 296 Gongylus Bojerii — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1839: 625 Scelotes bojeri — BOULENGER 1887: 409 Gongylomorphus bojeri — GREER 1970 Gongylomorphus bojerii — BRYGOO 1981 Scelotes bojerii — BULLOCK 1986 Scelotes bojerii — NORTH et al. 1994 Thyrus bojeri ? (O’SHEA, pers. comm.) Gongylomorphus bojeri — AUSTIN & ARNOLD 2006 |
Distribution | Mascarenes, Mauritius (Round Island, Gunner's Quoin [Coin de Mire], Reunion ?)
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Reproduction | oviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022) |
Types | Holotype: lost, MNHN-RA, apparently lost (Brygoo 1985); not traced at MNHN (I. Ineich, March 2019) |
Diagnosis | Diagnosis (genus): Skull characters: Palatine bones and palatal rami of pterygoids meeting medially; palatal rami of pterygoids "squared-off," not emarginated posteriorly as in the following two genera; pterygoid teeth absent (Fig. 7 in GREER 1970). Postorbital bone distinct, well developed; supratemporal arch well developed; 16 teeth on maxilla and 11 teeth on premaxillae. External characters: Interparietal small, not touching supraoculars; frontoparietals present (absent in all other subsaharan Africa, Madagascar, or west Indian Ocean island scincines); ear opening a horizontal slit; 38 longitudinal scale rows at midbody; digits 5-5 [from GREER 1970].
G. bojerii fontenayi Vinson, 1973, differs from G. b. bojerii in its shorter limbs, sombre colouring, rather matt dorsal surface and some minor aspects of scaling. |
Comment | Conservation: Probably extinct on Reunion.
Type species: Scincus bojerii DESJARDIN 1831 is the type species of the genus Gongylomorphus FITZINGER 1843. |
Etymology | Named after Wenzel Bojer (1800-1856), a Czech naturalist. He collected in tropical Africa. He was Director, Royal Botanic Gardens, Pamplemousses, Mauritius (1948- 1949). |
References |
- Austin, J. J. & Arnold, E.N. 2006. Using ancient and recent DNA to explore relationships of extinct and endangered Leiolopisma skinks (Reptilia: Scincidae) in the Mascarene islands. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 39 (2): 503-511 - get paper here
- Austin, J.J.; Arnold, E.N. & Jones, C.G. 2009. Interrelationships and history of the slit-eared skinks (Gongylomorphus, Scincidae) of the Mascarene islands, based on mitochondrial DNA and nuclear gene sequences. Zootaxa 2153: 55–68 - get paper here
- Beolens, Bo; Michael Watkins, and Michael Grayson 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA - get paper here
- Boulenger, G. A. 1887. Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) III. Lacertidae, Gerrhosauridae, Scincidae, Anelytropsidae, Dibamidae, Chamaeleontidae. London: 575 pp. - get paper here
- Brygoo, E.R. 1985. Les types des scincidés (Reptiles, Sauriens) du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, catalogue critique. Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. (4e sér.) 7 (sect. A 3), suppl.: 1-126
- Brygoo,E.R. 1981. Systématique des lézards scincides de la région malgache. IX. Nouvelles unités taxinomiques pour les Scelotes s.l. Bull. Mus. natl. Hist. nat. Paris, 4th ser., Sect. A., 3 (4): 1193-1204
- Bullock, David J. 1986. The Ecology and Conservation of Reptiles on Round Island and Gunner's Quoin, Mauritius. Biological Conservation 37: 135 156 - get paper here
- Desjardin, J. 1831. Sur trois espèces de lézard du genre scinque, qui habitent l'île Maurice (Ile-de-France). Ann. Sci. Nat. Paris 22: 292-299 - get paper here
- Duméril, A. M. C. and G. Bibron. 1839. Erpétologie Générale on Histoire Naturelle Complète des Reptiles. Vol. 5. Roret/Fain et Thunot, Paris, 871 pp. - get paper here
- Garbutt N 1992. The reptiles of Round Island, Mauritius. HERPTILE 17 (4): 157-170
- North S G; Bullock D J; Dulloo M E 1994. Changes in the vegetation and reptile populations on Round Island, Mauritius, following eradication of rabbits. Biological Conservation 67 (1) (1993): 21-28 - get paper here
- Vinson, J., and J. M. Vinson. 1969. The saurian fauna of the Mascarene Islands.nson 1969 Mauritius Institute Bulletin, 6:203-320 [1969]
- Vinson, Jean-Michel 1973. A new skink of the genus Gongylomorphus from Macabé forest (Mauritius). Rev. agric. sucr. Île Maurice 52: 39-40
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